As Tuesday’s 5pm eastern time deadline for teams to reduce their rosters to 23 men, and be cap compliant, fast approaches, Simon Gagne continues to wait for a contract from the Boston Bruins.

Gagne, 34, had a solid showing in camp and through the preseason reports CSNNE.com’s Joe Haggerty and though he doesn’t have a contract yet, it appears a deal isn’t far off.

Gagne who didn’t play in 2013-14, split the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season between the LA Kings and Philadelphia Flyers where he scored five goals and 16 points in 38 games.

The forward said he was motivated to get back into the game watching the Kings march to the Stanley Cup last spring.

“I missed the game last year, especially during the playoffs,” said Gagne. “I feel energized. I feel really good physically and mentally, so I’m ready for another (season). When I got the call from Boston, I thought it was the perfect scenario for myself, and for my family.”

Even after moving Johnny Boychuk to the New York Islanders, the Bruins only have $330,000 in cap space to work with as of Monday morning according to CapGeek.

Gagne isn’t deterred by the the Bruins cap situation.

“I had a little chat with (GM Peter Chiarelli)… we’ll see what happens over the next few days,” said Gagne. “I’ll be a part of the team, and I’ll stick around. It’s something where I’m ready to do whatever it takes to make the team. It’s good for them, and it’s good for me.

“I’m not going to another team. I’m here now and I want to be here now. I’m not going anywhere.”

For their part, Boston is happy with how Gagne has progressed through camp given he spent a year away from the game.

“My impressions are that he’s getting better. I think he’s skating better and he’s starting to get his hands back. He’s been away from the game – he’s skated for most of the year, but he’s been away from the game for the whole year,” said Chiarelli. “I spoke with him (Saturday) morning, and I made a proposal to him in the sense of, ‘Look Simon, I see you getting better, I want you to stick around and practice with the team.’

“He didn’t say yes or no, but I think he suggested he would want to stick around. He feels that he’s getting better. So that’s kind of a play-it-by-ear, day-by-day see how his legs feel, see how his hands feel, and just kind of see how it goes.”

Originally a first-round pick of the Flyers in 1998, Gagne has appeared in 799 NHL games with the Flyers, Lightning and Kings where he’s scored 288 goals and 597 points.

Boston is no stranger to giving older players contracts following camp invites. As Haggerty points out in his piece, the Bruins once signed Jay Pandolfo following a professional tryout.

“I didn’t play last year, so I’m happy to be here,” said Gagne. “If it takes a week or a couple of days, I will take the time and work hard in practice waiting for something to happen.”

The Bruins ironically open the season Wednesday against the Flyers.

Gagne could ultimately turn into a bottom six depth type player in Boston should he sign.

He participated in just 18 contests in 2013 with the Boston Bruins and averaged just 9:04 minutes of ice time.

“[It’s] age. If you are going to try to continue to play, it’s a mental commitment more than just physical,” Pandolfo told CSN New England. “Right now, that’s why I haven’t 100 percent made a decision. That’s why I’m more leaning more towards retiring.”

Pandolfo played in 899 career games and only spent his final season in Boston, but it was a memorable experience for him.

“To be able to finish here [in Boston] is pretty special for me,” Pandolfo said. “I’m not sure I’d really want to go play somewhere else at this point. I’m definitely probably leaning towards retiring.”

He has scored 100 goals and 226 points over his career. Pandolfo also won the Stanley Cup twice with the New Jersey Devils.

It’s worth adding that he also reinforced those statements on Twitter today:

To be able to finish in Boston, is special for me. At 38, I'm not sure I want to play somewhere else at this point. What a ride! #ThankYou

In English, Claude Julien is fairly confident Patrice Bergeron will suit up for the Bruins tonight in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

In French, he’s sure of it.

That was the story out of Boston this morning following the morning skate — during the French portion of his media availability, Julien apparently told reporters that Bergeron, injured and hospitalized during Game 5, will be in the Bruins lineup tonight:

Obviously, there’s a translation issue at play, as well as the inflection of language. But in the English portion of his presser, Julien said he was confident Bergeron would play — “Patrice will dress for warm-up tonight, and I’m feeling confident that he’ll play,” was the exact quote — so it’s a pretty safe bet No. 37 will be between Brad Marchand and Jaromir Jagr when puck drops at 8 p.m. ET tonight.

Should be noted, however, that Julien confirmed both Jay Pandolfo and Jordan Caron would take the warm-up tonight. Neither has played this postseason.

Last meeting at the United Center: October 15, 2011 (won by BOS, 3-2 in shootout)

Last meeting at TD Garden: March 29, 2011 (won by BOS, 3-0)

Jaromir Jagr (BOS) is the only player on either team who has faced his team’s Stanley Cup Final opponent during the 2012-13 regular season. His Dallas Stars lost to the Blackhawks on Jan. 24 (3-2 loss) and Mar. 16 (8-1 loss), both at Dallas

FROM TEAMMATES TO RIVALS

International
Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook (CHI) & Patrice Bergeron (BOS) were teammates on gold medal-winning Canada at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver … Bergeron also became a Stanley Cup champion on the same ice (Rogers Arena) in 2011 … Toews & Bergeron are the two most recent members of the Triple Gold Club (Stanley Cup, Olympic & World gold medals) … Jaromir Jagr has also won all three major hockey titles, with the Penguins & Czech Republic
Zdeno Chara (BOS), Marian Hossa & Michal Handzus (CHI) were teammates on Slovakia in 2010.

In Game 3, the Bruins outlasted the Penguins in the longest game of the postseason, when Patrice Bergeron scored 15:19 into the second overtime. Tonight, the B’s will try to sweep the Pens to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in three seasons. The Bruins are 5-0 all-time in Game 4s of best-of-seven series at home (13-5 overall) when up three-games-to-none.

The Penguins’ scoring deficiency, after leading the NHL in goals per game during the regular season (3.38) and the first two series this postseason (4.27), has been historic. With only two goals vs. Tuukka Rask and the Bruins, it marks only the second time in franchise history that the Pens have scored two or fewer goals in a three-game stretch in the playoffs (2001 Eastern Conference Final, Games 3-5, vs. New Jersey Devils). The six players with four or more goals coming into the conference final have a combined one (Chris Kunitz, Game 3).

FIRST TWO SERIES

THIS SERIES

Player

Goals

Goals

Shots on goal

Shot attempts

Sidney Crosby

7

0

9

17

Pascal Dupuis

7

0

6

15

James Neal

6

0

15

30

Chris Kunitz

4

1

8

17

Evgeni Malkin

4

0

20

34

Jarome Iginla

4

0

4

10

Shot attempts = shots on goal, attempts blocked and missed shots

The top six forwards on the B’s, on the other hand, have had few problems creating offense. The top line of Nathan Horton (two goals, three assists), David Krejci (four goals) and Milan Lucic (three assists) has combined for six goals, while the second line of Brad Marchand (two goals, assist), Patrice Bergeron (two goals, assist) and Jaromir Jagr (three assists) has four.

The Bruins’ only roster change will involve Gregory Campbell, the center on Boston’s “Merlot Line” with Daniel Paille and Shawn Thornton. “Soupy” broke his right fibula while blocking a Evgeni Malkin slapshot, and will miss the remainder of the season.

WHO ON EARTH IS … KASPARS DAUGAVIŅŠ?

Perhaps the name is familiar. Kaspars Daugaviņš, the most likely roster replacement (along with Carl Söderberg and Jay Pandolfo) for the injured Gregory Campbell in Game 4, has already suited up for the Bruins this postseason, playing 9:52 in the B’s Game 1 defeat of the Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Doesn’t ring a bell? You remember him from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, where he represented Latvia and registered six shots on goal in four games (zero points). Still no? But certainly you’ve seen the most memorable shootout miss (see link) in NHL history, when he was a member of the Ottawa Senators, playing against the Bruins, on March 11.

That daring attempt, which he had first tested in the AHL two seasons earlier, was stopped by the Bruins’ starting goaltender Tuukka Rask. In the Senators’ next game against Boston, he scored his only goal of the 2012-13 season, beating the B’s backup, Anton Khudobin, in what would be his final game in Canada’s capital. On March 26, he was placed on waivers by the Sens and picked up the following day by the Bruins.

DID YOU KNOW?

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have never scored fewer than three points in a playoff series. Crosby had one goal and two assists in the 2009 Stanley Cup Final vs. Detroit, and Malkin had one goal and two assists in the 2008 Stanley Cup Final vs. Detroit and the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. Montreal.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Chicago 3, Los Angeles 2 – Blackhawks lead series, 3-1

Marian Hossa scored 1:10 into the third period – his seventh goal of the postseason – to lift the Blackhawks to a 3-2 victory over the Kings in Game 4. Bryan Bickell (his eighth goal, T-2nd in NHL) and Patrick Kane also scored, as Chicago overcame the absence of top defenseman Duncan Keith (suspension). The Kings, who got goals from Slava Voynov and Dustin Penner, were held to 21 shots on goal, only two in the third period.

The Blackhawks not only took a three-games-to-one series lead; they also snapped the Kings’ franchise-records for most consecutive home wins in the playoffs (nine) and overall (15). Chicago can clinch its 12th Stanley Cup Final berth by defeating Los Angeles at home on Saturday evening, on NBC.